California’s Crackdown: $53M of Illegal Cannabis Seized
Press release from the DCC:
Reinforcing California’s commitment to supporting legal cannabis operators and dismantling the illegal market, the Governor’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce (UCETF) seized more than $53,620,600 million in illegal cannabis in the first quarter of this calendar year. Other enforcement highlights from the period of January 1, 2024, through March 31, 2024, includes:
- 31,866 pounds of unlicensed cannabis seized
- 54,137 unlicensed cannabis plants eradicated
- $34,858 in cash seized
- 11 firearms seized
- 4 arrests
“California is home to the largest legal cannabis market in the world,” said Governor Newsom. “As we continue to cultivate a legal marketplace, we’re taking aggressive action to crack down on those still operating in the shadows — shutting down illegal operations linked to organized crime, human trafficking, and the proliferation of illegal products that harm the environment and public health.”
“UCETF continues to strengthen its momentum by focusing on priority targets and strategically removing operations having a significant impact on the illegal cannabis supply chain,” said Nathaniel Arnold, Acting Chief of the CDFW Law Enforcement Division. “We are utilizing all the available resources from our partner agencies and are committed more than ever to providing public safety, protecting the environment, and helping the regulated market succeed and thrive.”
“A key to UCETF’s success is a collaborative approach relying on intelligence gathering, targeted investigations and leveraging the expertise of our members,” said Bill Jones, Chief of the Law Enforcement Division for DCC. “The Taskforce continues to play a crucial role in protecting the legal cannabis market while eliminating the often-dangerous activities associated with unlicensed cannabis operations.”
The following state agencies and departments participated in UCETF operations during Q1 2024: Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Department of Cannabis Control, Employment Development Department, Department of Fish and Wildlife, California National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, California State Parks, and the Department of Tax and Fee Administration. In addition, multiple federal and local partners assisted with enforcement operations during the first quarter of 2024.
A total of 18 search warrants were served during Q1 2024 in the following counties:
- Alameda (2)
- Fresno (1)
- Kern (5)
- Los Angeles (1)
- Riverside (2)
- San Joaquin (1)
- Orange County (6)
Since inception, UCETF has seized $371,199,431 in unlicensed cannabis through 236 search warrants. The taskforce has also eradicated 401,458 plants and seized 139 firearms.
Created by Governor Newsom in 2022, the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce has been charged to further align state efforts and increase cannabis enforcement coordination between state, local and federal partners. UCETF’s enforcement actions protect consumer and public safety, safeguard the environment, and deprive illegal cannabis operators and transnational criminal organizations of illicit revenue that harms consumers and undercuts the regulated cannabis market in California.
The taskforce is co-chaired by the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and coordinated by the Homeland Security Division of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). The taskforce includes more than two dozen local, state, and federal partners working together to disrupt the illegal cannabis market.
The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) licenses and regulates commercial cannabis activity within California. DCC works closely with all stakeholders, including businesses and local jurisdictions, to create a sustainable legal cannabis industry and a safe and equitable marketplace. DCC develops and implements progressive cannabis policies with robust protections for public health, safety, and the environment.
The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) licenses and regulates commercial cannabis activity within California. DCC works closely with all stakeholders, including businesses and local jurisdictions, to create a sustainable legal cannabis industry and a safe and equitable marketplace. DCC develops and implements progressive cannabis policies with robust protections for public health, safety, and the environment.
To learn more about the California cannabis market, state licenses or laws, visit www.cannabis.ca.gov.
Reinforcing California’s commitment to supporting legal cannabis operators and dismantling the illegal market, the Governor’s 
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So Uck-e-Tef got about 0.02% of the non-licensed shit…
Nice going, now be sure to enjoy that PERS retirement, when you get there, cause you made a difference…
WOW!
18 search warrants (that’s 6 a month!);
11 firearms seized (no assault rifles?);
4 arrests (4!);
and a whopping $34,858 in cash seized.
Like nearly everything else in Newsome’s California, this program is designed to churn out press releases, not actually accomplish anything.
Newsome and the democrats in Sacramento are completely unhinged. Vote republican across the board in November if you want positive change and laws enforced.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/sonoma-county-legal-weed-businesses-face-hard-financial-times-despite-recently-reduced-tax/
The easier you make it for illegal growers to grow legally, the more likely it is for illegal growers to go legal.
This is great news! So they are working hard to support prices for the smaller black market grows that don’t get caught?!! Wait- does this sound vaguely similar to a strategy that happened before?!! I don’t think that one worked either LOL. As long as the penalties for growing are simply misdemeanors I don’t think these cartels or syndicate grows are going anywhere. But it is entertaining to watch the government fight for the cartel permit grows against the cartel unpermitted grows…only thing missing from this bs press release is the classic “This year we are going to get them all!”
$53 million seized? Oh, that’s maybe 3% of the illegal market that is estimated to be near the same size as the legal market…$1.8B?
Why is the dept of ABC involved? 🤷♂️
Pretty sure the dcc is folded in under them
They want a cut.
Good to see people are getting a bit smarter about keeping their cash away from their stash. Now do the same with firearms. They will only cause you grief if you use them & extra charges when the DTF shows up
Hardly all that this shows is that people are helping themselves to untaxed bonuses
Cannabis cannot, literally, be “illegal”! It’s just a very useful plant that is now believed likely to be the very first cultivated purposefully by human beings as far back as 13,000 yrs ago…
It’s only our neoprohibitionist Prop64 that tries to slap an illegal label on some (most?) cannabis currently cultivated in Cali. To our shame!
The captured around $1.10 for every pound they seized. Once the shady ass cops sell of what they seized they’ll probably triple that!
You voted to torpedo an incredibly lucrative business. And to think, we thought CAMP was bad. When you cut the State and County into the equation you gave them a financial incentive. Always a bad idea when dealing with an entity that relies on taking other people’s money for their survival.
Just wait for that federal “legalization” where the ATF and the IRS and the FDA all get their grimy hands into it! And idiot permit pansies believe it is somehow going to save them?! Ha Ha Ha!!!
If they’re seizing cannabis, why call it a “crackdown”?
Sure, let’s go after the weed. It is not killing anyone. Keep that fentanyl pouring in though….
I’m starting to think they never really cared about saving the salamanders..
//Created by Governor Newsom in 2022//
236 total search warrants is less than 10 a month average. 371 million in weed seized is less than 5% of the annual 4 billion dollar california legal cannabis sales which is only 25% of the real industry. So. They crack’in down on less than 1.5% of weed in the pipeline. Not much to tout about honestly.
That’s a lot of money out of the pockets of California’s poor populations and out of circulation of the economy.
It’s always about dat ‘dolla dolla bill’ yo. From every single angle you look at it. Soooo much $$$ going in, to get soooo much $$$ going out…. $$$$
cray cray! 😜
Not offense to anyone, of course
Just sayin’
Damn!
Hope you all have a wonderful day today 🥰